Poet Robert Frost wrote a poem about
choices called The Road Not Taken.
The poem is about a traveler who comes upon two roads going into the
woods . . . basically a fork in the road.
One is well-worn and traveled, the other is over-grown and less
used. The traveler must decide as to
which road to travel . . . the easy, sure way or the less taken and mysterious
way. The debate rages on within the
traveler until a choice is finally made:
I shall
be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere
ages and ages hence:
Two
roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took
the one less traveled by,
And
that has made all the difference.
In choosing to take the road less
traveled, the traveler begins an adventure of growth and learning. The traveler embraces the unknown and the
mysterious that challenges him or her to see and experience life
differently. In stepping out of the
known into the unknown the traveler embraces a new world . . . knowing that it
won’t be easy. Stepping forward the
traveler journeys into growth as a person.
I am not an avid fan of poetry, but I do
appreciate a good metaphor or analogy.
The “fork in the road” is just that . . . a good metaphor or
analogy. Which brings me to baseball. I love baseball. I am a die-hard fan of the Baltimore Orioles
in the American League East Division . . . along with the New York Yankees . .
. those damn Yankees. I do not like the
Yankees, but I do have two Yankee players that I admire. Both were catchers. One was Thurman Munson, the other was Yogi
Berra. Though Yogi Berra was a Yankee,
he said some pretty good quotes during his career and lifetime. He was wise and a wise guy.
Here are a few of my favorites:
You
can observe a lot by just watching.
It’s
like déjà vu all over again.
A
nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
Always
go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.
You
better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.
I
never said most of the things I said.
And, then this one which is probably my
favorite as he butchers the metaphor and analogy of Frost’s famous poem: “When
you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
In our scripture reading for today, the
disciples are struggling with a decision even though they do not realize
it. Like the traveler in Frost’s poem,
they have come to a place where two roads diverge into the woods . . . they’ve
come to a fork in the road. Jesus tells
them that he is leaving to go and prepare a place for them. But Thomas admits that none of them have a
clue where Jesus is going . . . “Lord, we don’t know where you are going,
so how can we know the way?” Jesus tells them that he is the “way”. The disciples must make a choice . . . the
world’s way or Jesus’ way. The choice is
theirs to make.
Now remember, that the conversation we
are hearing in our reading is taking place that evening of the last meal Jesus
had with his disciples before he was arrested, tried, and crucified. Jesus and the disciples have been together
for awhile now . . . a couple of years . . . and, Jesus is getting a little
exasperated with his disciples. They
still don’t get it . . . they still don’t understand . . . Jesus, his teachings,
his way of life, his call upon their lives.
Thus, they are standing at a fork in the road and Jesus is telling them
to pick it up!
Yogi knew what to do with a fork in the
road. You pick it up and keep
going. Jesus wanted his disciples to
follow him . . . to live life as he lived life.
He wanted them to know God as he knew God. He wanted that intimacy for them because that
is what God desires. He wanted them to love
God as God loves them. He also wanted
them to love others . . . all others as God has loved them. He wanted them to change the world . . . to
make it a better place . . . to establish God’s Kingdom. His way was not the way of the world . . .
that was the road he wanted his disciples to choose to travel.
Remember how I said last week that the
Christmas and Easter stories seem to be on continuous replay . . . that we hear
the same old stories over and over again with the same results? As Yogi said earlier in the sermon, “It’s
like déjà vu all over again.” I think
that is the frustrating thing about Easter . . . we know the story . . . we
know how it ends . . . and, it demands a choice. Every year it demands us to decide about
following Jesus. And, yet, here we are
once again, standing at a fork in the road.
Jesus wants to know if we are going to pick it up.
Well . . . are we?
As I have told you before, M. Scott Peck
in his book The Road Less Traveled, states that sin is taking the easy
way out. As humans we are creatures of
habit . . . we like doing things the way that we do them . . . and, we sure are
not going to try something different and mysterious that carries some
risk. We are more likely to take the
well-worn road because if it was good enough for everyone else, it is good
enough for ourselves. Tried and true . .
. that is what we like; yet, it is not the way of Jesus.
Jesus’ ways are not the world’s
ways. Jesus doesn’t believe in Band-Aid
ministry or throwing money at the problem.
No, Jesus believes in solving problems that bring everyone to the
table. Jesus seeks out peace where there
is conflict . . . reconciliation, not compromise . . . love not prejudice and
hatred. He doesn’t seek division but
unity . . . welcome not hostility. Right
not wrong. No one is to be excluded,
everyone is to be included. It is a road
that is not often traveled down, but it is the road that he takes . . . a road
that leads to the Kingdom, a place he goes to prepare for us.
It is a road not often chosen. A road that takes risks as it heads into the
unknown. It is not popular as it is
overgrown and less worn . . . a mystery.
The other road looks more attractive . . . it is smoother, has rest areas,
places to stop and eat. It looks faster
and like less work. It is our
choice. Are we going to pick up the fork
in the road?
Jesus wants us to. He tells his disciples and us: “Very
truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,
and they will do even greater things than these . . .” Jesus believes . . . believes in us .
. . that we can do it. We have to
believe in ourselves that we can do it . . . that we can pick up the fork and
follow Jesus. As Frost wrote at the
conclusion of his poem:
Two
roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took
the one less traveled by,
And
that has made all the difference.
Jesus believes we can make a difference
. . . let us pick up the fork in the road and follow Jesus where he leads. Let’s make a difference. God is waiting . . . Jesus shows the
way. Amen.
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